Page 686 - LITTLE WOMEN
P. 686
Little Women
John will see what I’ve gladly sacrificed for them, won’t
he, my precious?’
To which pathetic appeal daisy would answer with a
coo, or Demi with a crow, and Meg would put by her
lamentations for a maternal revel, which soothed her
solitude for the time being. But the pain increased as
politics absorbed John, who was always running over to
discuss interesting points with Scott, quite unconscious
that Meg missed him. Not a word did she say, however,
till her mother found her in tears one day, and insisted on
knowing what the matter was, for Meg’s drooping spirits
had not escaped her observation.
‘I wouldn’t tell anyone except you, Mother, but I really
do need advice, for if John goes on much longer I might
as well be widowed,’ replied Mrs. Brooke, drying her tears
on Daisy’s bib with an injured air.
‘Goes on how, my dear?’ asked her mother anxiously.
‘He’s away all day, and at night when I want to see
him, he is continually going over to the Scotts’. It isn’t fair
that I should have the hardest work, and never any
amusement. Men are very selfish, even the best of them.’
‘So are women. Don’t blame John till you see where
you are wrong yourself.’
‘But it can’t be right for him to neglect me.’
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